{"id":5572,"date":"2024-11-19T22:19:15","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T22:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/sustainable-seafood\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T10:28:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T10:28:58","slug":"sustainable-seafood","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/sustainable-seafood\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable Seafood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\"Pole<\/figure>
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Protect workers and wildlife at sea<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As consumers, our choices matter \u2014especially for the health of our oceans. The U.S. is one of the world\u2019s largest consumers of seafood, and the largest market for canned tuna. This means our supermarkets are one of the strongest connections to our oceans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A destructive industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our oceans, once thought to be endlessly abundant, are being depleted by overfishing and destructive fishing practices<\/a>. This has caused the populations of the ocean\u2019s top predators \u2014 like sharks, tuna, and swordfish \u2014 to drop by as much as 90 percent over the past 50 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the industry\u2019s harm does not stop there \u2014 human rights are also a casualty of this destructive industry. Forced labor and human trafficking, forms of modern slavery, are \u201ca severe problem\u201d in the industry, according to the International Labor Organization<\/a>. And reports from Greenpeace East Asia <\/a>and Southeast Asia<\/a> tell harrowing tales of conditions onboard, including 20 hour work days, being cut off from contact with family, docked wages, lack of potable water and nutritious food, violence, and even death. Workers have reported being beaten, abused, and forced to work on ships for months or years at a time.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Chyuan<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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\"Supermarket<\/figure>
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At your local grocery store<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fish caught under these conditions are making their way onto U.S. supermarket shelves<\/a>. This reality, however, has largely been hidden from U.S. consumers. US grocery retailers make a lion\u2019s share of the revenue in the tuna industry. In 2018, tuna vessels worldwide netted $11 billion. Yet retailers earned almost four times that amount from their sales of tuna products in the same year. Making matters worse, for the most part the retailers that profit from tuna products have yet to hold themselves and their suppliers to more rigorous standards. Let\u2019s be clear \u2014 this isn\u2019t about forcing consumers to make tough choices. It\u2019s about demanding that companies and supermarkets make meaningful and necessary changes<\/a> so that the sustainable seafood option is the easiest choice for shoppers. We must also ensure that the U.S. government has and enforces regulations that prevent companies from having the option to import goods that exploit workers and our oceans.
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Spotlight on tuna<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. is one of the world\u2019s largest consumers of seafood, and the largest market for canned tuna. Unfortunately, most of the tuna found on supermarket shelves \u2014 including well-known brands like Bumblebee and Starkist \u2014 come from destructive fishing methods that injure and kill other marine animals and may put workers at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the largest tuna brands in the U.S., Bumble Bee, is owned by the world\u2019s largest canned tuna trader \u2014 Taiwanese company FCF. As we pressure them to clean up their supply chain, other companies must follow suit. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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